South Plains Track and Field Dominate At Home

LEVELLAND— The South Plains College Track and Field teams were back in action this weekend in Levelland to compete in their final Indoor meet before heading to NJCAA Indoor National meet on March 4 in Winstom Selem, North Carolina.

The Texans and Lady Texans combined for 68 national qualifying marks coming into the weekend, and once again had impressive showings across the board.

"We had another good meet because we're here at home and we're rested, and we're getting to the point where we're resting them more and getting ready for nationals," South Plains head coach Chris Beene said. "We improved a lot of the performances for nationals, and that's what we were trying to do. I think we're staring to look a lot more competitive on paper, than we did say two or three weeks ago."

After being named the National Athlete of the Week just a week ago, sophomore DeVante Lacy posted a 1:20.17 mark in the men's 600 meter run, earning him the top spot to get the day started for South Plains. In the men's 400 meter run, Dedrian Windham finished fourth overall with a final time of 48.79.

Kelvin Keter led the way for the Texans in the men's 1000 meter run, finishing first overall with a final time of 2:29.59. Henry Ngetich also placed in the top five for South Plains, finishing third overall with a final time of 2:34.20. In the men's 800 meter run, Daniel Chan placed fourth with a finishing time of 1:57.95, while Omero Rodriguez's time of 2:20.14 was good enough for sixth. Rodriguez would then go on to take first overall in the men's 3000 meter run with a finishing time of 9:10.86.

In the men's 1 mile run, the Texans' Nicholas Rotich took the top position with a final time of 4:28.98. Deric Martinez finished first overall in the men's 5000 meter run for South Plains with a finishing time of 15:41.71, while Jose Silva placed second for the Texans with a final time of 16:13.38.

Inn the men's 60 meter hurdles, Robert Dunning and Roje Jackson-Chin took first and second for South Plains with final times of 7.97 and 8.26, respectively. In the men's high jump competition, the Texans' Kwaume McGee tied for first place with jumps of 6' 8". In the men's long jump completion, Fabian Edoki took first overall with a final distance of 25' 11", while Saahir Bethea's distance of 25' 3.25" was good enough for second.

In the men's pole vault competition, Justin Scott took first overall with a final height of 14' 7.25". Fletcher Sherrard went on to take second overall in the men's triple jump with a distance of 47' 1.5", while Gabe Moore and Logan McBride took first and second overall in the men's shot put competition, with final throws of 42' 2", and 34' 4.75".

On the women's side, Aaliyah Telesford would go on to place first in the 60-meter dash with a time of 7.40. In the women's 200-meter dash, Taylor Hill's time of 24.47 was good enough for first place. Also placing in the top five in the 200-meter dash were Joi Gill and Shirley Vunatup, whose times of 24.64 and 24.91 were good enough for second and third place, respectively.

The Lady Texans took the top three spots in the 400-meter dash, with Medinah Spencer placing first overall with a time of 55.09. Saqukine Cameron would take second with a time of 55.99, while Mauricia Prieto placed third with a time of 56.31. In the 600 meter run, Latriceia Smith placed second overall with a time of 1:33.93, while Deja Harrison's time of 1:34.62 took third.

In the women's 1 mile run, Poro Gahekave placed fourth overall with a finishing time of 5:45.37, while Kassidi Jones took Seventh with a time of 6:05.78. Jones would then go on to place fourth overall in the 3000 meter run with a time of 12:07.12.

In the women's 60 meter hurdles, the Lady Texans' Shanice Lewis and Medinah Spencer each broth the previous school record of 8.84, which was set by Jackie Johnson in 2007. Lewis' final time of 8.67 was good enough for first place honors, while Spencer took second with a time of 8.72.

In the women's long jump competition, Felicia Frimpong took the top position with a distance of 19' 6.25", and Lewis' final jump of 18' 10.75" was good enough for third place. Frimpong would then go on to take second place in the triple jump competition, with a final distance of 38' 11.75".

In the women's shot put competition, Kionna Bradshaw's throw of 43' 11.25" was good enough for second place. Finally, in the women's pole vault competition, Morgan Hartsell's final height of 11' 7.75" was good enough for first place.

"Our motto is compete," Beene said. "We want to go there (Nationals) and give it everything we got, and if everybody gives everything they got and we get beat, we can live with it. We want to go and compete, that's the main thing. I've been here 12 years, and we've done some pretty great things, so the expectations are always high. I always tell people, 'it's never enough to want to win, everyone wants to win, you have to hate to lose.' My driving force is knowing how miserable we feel if we don't get it done, so that's what we're trying to do."

With four Indoor meets complete, the Texans and Lady Texans have several athletes who currently hold some of the top finishes in the NJCAA in their respective areas.

Lacy's time of 46.61 in the 400 meters at the Tyson Invitational currently sits as the second fast time in the NJCAA. Keter's 2:29.11 mark in the 1000 meters this weekend currently sits as the fourth best time in the country, while Robert Dunning's time of 7.92 in the 60 hurdles sits as the second fastest time in the country.

The Texans' Hassan Abdi posted the second fastest time in the country in the 3000 meters at the Charlie Thomas Invitational, and also holds the third fastest time of 14:36.71 in the 5000 meters at the Tyson Invitational.

Fabian Edoki's jump of 25' 11" this weekend currently holds the top position in the men's long jump competition, while Gabe Moore is currently ranked second in the NJCAA in the Heptathlon, with a score of 4905 points.

The Lady Texans' Aaliyah Telesford currently holds the second fastest time in the 60 meters after posting a 7.40 this weekend. Medinah Spencer's final time of 55.20 this weekend in the 400 meters currently sits as the second fastest time in the country, while Latriceia Smith's time of 1:33.93 is the third fastest time in the country.

Shanice Lewis' time of 8.69 this weekend is the fourth fastest time in the 60 hurdles, while Spencer's time of 8.74 currently ranks fifth. The Lady Texans' 4x400 relay teams has the second fastest time in the country with a 3:45.20 finishing time at the Tyson Invitational, while Morgan Hartsell's 12' 1.5" mark at the Tyson Invitational currently sits at second in the country.

Felicia Frimpong's jump of 19' 6.25" in the long jump currently sits at second in the NJCAA, while Melody Korie's jump of 19' 4.25" holds the fourth spot. Finally, in the Indoor Pentathlon, Cierah Hairston's 3424 points at the Charlie Thomas Invitational currently ranks third in the country.